Offbeat
Prof. Deepak Dhar
Prof. Deepak Dhar stands among India's most celebrated theoretical physicists, a pioneer whose brilliant work in statistical physics and stochastic processes has reshaped the field. He made history as the first Indian ever to receive the prestigious Boltzmann Medal, physics' highest honor in the field, and went on to earn the ICTP Dirac Medal for his profound contributions to statistical mechanics. His remarkable journey is crowned by India's own Padma Bhushan and Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, along with fellowships in every major Indian science academy — a true testament to a lifetime of extraordinary scientific achievement.
Keynote
Prof. Subree Subramanian
Prof. Subree Subramanian is a visionary Professor of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, whose groundbreaking cancer research program has earned worldwide acclaim for uncovering the hidden molecular language of colorectal cancer and turning the body's own immune system into its fiercest weapon. A prolific scholar with over 120 peer-reviewed publications and trusted editorial leadership at Cancers and Vaccines, he has devoted his career to bridging the gap between laboratory discovery and lifesaving treatment. As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of EV Therapeutics Inc., his pioneering exosome-based therapies carry the promise of hope to patients facing the toughest battles of advanced-stage cancer.
Emerging Scholars with Mentors
Principal Investigator
Dr. Colin Jamora
Student
Obed Gangte
Kamat
Group
The Kamat laboratory at IISER Pune, is dedicated to elucidating the biological mechanisms of lipid signaling pathways within the central nervous and immune systems, integrating chemical biology, immunology, and advanced mass spectrometry-based lipidomics and proteomics to illuminate previously uncharacterized pathways in vivo.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Siddhesh S Kamat
Student
Neeraj Kumar Yadav
Shukla
Group
Prof. Shukla's Epigenetics & RNA Processing laboratory at IISER Bhopal, is is unraveling one of cancer biology's most intriguing frontiers: the dynamic crosstalk between epigenetic regulation and alternative pre-mRNA splicing, combining hands-on experimentation with cutting-edge computational approaches to expose the hidden mechanisms driving disease.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Sanjeev Shukla
Student
Anamika Bansal
Laxman
Group
The Sunil Laxman laboratory at InSTEM Bengaluru, reconceptualizes metabolism not as a static process but as a dynamic system of information transfer that governs cellular fate—growth, division, differentiation, or death—through the continuous exchange of molecules between cells and their environment.
Principal Investigator
Prof. Sunil Laxman
Student
Ganesh Muthu
Palani
Group
Dr. Palani's laboratory at IISc Bengaluru, investigates the actomyosin machinery—the conserved molecular engine of actin filaments, Myosin-II, and associated proteins that generates mechanical force driving cell division, migration, and wound repair—using interdisciplinary approaches spanning synthetic biology, fluorescence microscopy, and reconstituted in vitro systems across yeast and mammalian models.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Saravanan Palani
Student
Anuj Kumar
Joseph
Group
The Joseph laboratory at NCCS Pune, ventures beyond the textbook role of nucleoporins in nuclear transport, uncovering surprising functions of Nup358—from its presence in the enigmatic annulate lamellae, where it may orchestrate mRNA regulation, ER-mitochondrial contacts, and growth factor signaling, to its emerging roles in chromatin remodeling and cell migration.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jomon Joseph
Student
Akshay Lonare
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jayandharan G Rao
Student
Dikshika Bihani
